A Caged Angel
by LeeLee Lollipop
Summary: At Baskerville, Sherlock is interrupted from his mind palace by a rather unusual experiment. An experiment that makes him furious...
1. Chapter 1

Sherlock closed his eyes and felt knowledge wash over him. He basked in it for a while, before searching through it for the answer to his question.

"Liberty, Indiana. Project H.O.U.N.D."

Sherlock's head snapped up, his eyes flying open. "Who said that?"

There was a slight clatter across the lab. "Me."

He walked cautiously towards the noise. There was a curtain hung on the wall, clearly hiding the door to some sort of room. He pulled it aside and felt his eyes go wide. Standing behind the barred door was a young woman. He stared at her:

**Pale skin. **Doesn't go outside often.

**Dry hair, too thin to be healthy. **Poor diet.

**White shorts and tee-shirt that match the lab, personal room. **Stays here permanently.

**Conclusion: **Lab experiment.

"Hello." The woman smiled slightly as she tapped her fingernails over the bars of her door.

"Who are you?" Sherlock could barely speak, the shock of finding her here was so much.

Her thin fingers curled round the bars. "Project A."

Sherlock felt shock give way to anger. Project A? They didn't even have the decency to give her a name? "The conspiracies were right! Baskerville does experiment on humans!" he spat in disgust.

She gave a short laugh. "It used to. When they found that I was the only one the experiments completely worked on, the order came for them to dispose of all the other subjects. Luckily one of the doctors liked me and decided to keep me, and it helps that Major Barrymore has a soft spot for me too."

Sherlock frowned and filed the information away for later. "Before, what did you say?"

"I said Liberty, Indiana. Project H.O.U.N.D. That is what you're trying to work out, isn't it? Henry Knight went to you for help."

Sherlock nodded. He needed to tell John. He looked at the woman and felt fury burn through his body again. He gently touched her fingers. "I'll come back.

She smiled slightly and nodded. "I know. You're going to need the computer."

…...

Sherlock grabbed Dr Stapleton's arm. "Explain yourself. And be quick."

"I'm sorry, what?" she frowned.

"Sherlock, what's wrong? You're white as a sheet and shaking. What have you worked out?"

"It's not what I worked out, John. It's what I saw. Now follow me."

"Explain what you're talking about first, Mr Holmes."

Looking Dr Stapleton in the eye, Sherlock gave her a glare. "I'm talking about 'Project A', Dr Stapleton."

She paled and Sherlock smirked slightly. "I take it you're the one who disobeyed the orders for disposal, yes?"

She nodded. "I couldn't do it, neither could Major Barrymore. We couldn't kill her."

"Her?" John frowned. "I thought you were talking about an experiment?"

Sherlock opened the lab door. "Oh, we are, John."

John gasped as his eyes fell on the barred room. "No!"

"Yes." Dr Stapleton sighed. "She is Project A."

The woman looked up. "Dr Stapleton!" She looked at Sherlock. "You came back."

He brushed her fingers again. "I told you I would, didn't I?" He smiled at her reassuringly. He knew she hadn't thought he'd come back.

Dr Stapleton took a small key from her pocket and opened to door. "Come on, Ayla. You can come out."

She walked quickly out of the door and tripped over the step. Sherlock stepped forward and caught her. He frowned as he felt how frail she was, how feathery and erratic her pulse was. He cleared his throat and set her gently to her feet, noting how much smaller than him she was. She was around 3 inches smaller than John.

"Ayla was created as a weapon. She was the first successful experimentation that Baskerville attempted on a human." explained Dr Stapleton.

"How is she a weapon?"

"She has enhanced senses, she's stronger and faster than a normal human and has a perfect memory. Excellent for reconnaissance missions, don't you think?" Dr Stapleton smiled slightly.

John frowned. "Why do you keep her locked away?"

Dr Stapleton put her arm around Ayla. "She's not technically supposed to be alive."

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" Sherlock looked at Ayla and raised an eyebrow.

She grinned a crooked grin. "Major Barrymore's the only one who has clearance to look at Project H.O.U.N.D. His password is 'Maggie'."

Sherlock smiled and logged on. "Let's see what this is all about."

Ayla leaned over his shoulder and gasped at the screen. "Paranoia? Severe trauma? Brutal murders? What did they do to those people?"

"An aerosol dispersed drug to induce fear. I get the feeling it worked a little _too_ well."

"And look at the picture of the scientists involved!" Dr Stapleton added. "Look at him, he looks familiar."

"Because he is." Sherlock said darkly. "It's Doctor Frankland."

"Louise?"

Sherlock looked up. John was on his phone, looking worried. Ayla walked back to her 'room' and shut the door, motioning for Dr Stapleton to lock it.

"What is it, John?"

"It's Louise. Henry just attacked her. He's got a gun."

"Go." said Ayla. "I knew Henry. Please help him."

Sherlock motioned for the two to go, then walked over to Ayla. "I will get you out of here. I swear it."

She smiled sadly. "People have said that before. Most people don't get within 10 feet of the release papers."

Sherlock brushed her cheek. "I'm not most people."

_**A.N. - Well, please review and tell me what you think!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Sherlock strode through Baskerville towards the lab that held Ayla. He smiled at the papers in his hand and opened the door. "Ayla?"

The covering over the door fluttered slightly. Sherlock's smile grew as he unlocked the door and pulled it open. Ayla looked up at him and he held out the papers. "Read them."

"I, Major Barrymore, do hereby order for the release of Project A, hereafter known as Ayla, from the facility of Baskerville. She will no longer be under obligation to work for Baskerville and will be given complete freedom. She is only to be given into the care of Sherlock Holmes, the man who bares these papers. Signed, Major Barrymore."

Sherlock took her hand, noting that it was shaking slightly, and gently pulled her out of her room. "I told you I'd get you out, didn't I?"

She frowned. "You didn't say you were related to Mr Holmes."

"Why is it impor- Oh."

Sherlock looked around. "Mycroft runs this place. He controls everything. Even you."

She nodded shakily and Sherlock's eyes narrowed. His brother was a dead man walking.

…...

Sherlock stormed into the lobby in front of Mycroft's office. He turned to the secretary. "Inform Mycroft I'm here to see him."

"Do you have an appointment, sir?"

"No. Now tell him I'm here."

"You can't see Mr Holmes without an appointment, I'm afraid."

Sherlock leaned over the desk and glared fiercely at the woman. "I don't need an appointment to see my own brother! Now tell him I'm _here_!"

The woman blanched. "I'm sorry Mr Holmes! I'll inform him right away!"

"Do that." Sherlock smirked. He looked to the door and saw Ayla peeking in. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Mr Holmes?"

Sherlock turned to the woman at the desk and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Your brother will see you now."

Sherlock gave a curt nod and walked quickly through the door. Mycroft sighed as he did.

"What do you want, Sherlock?"

"Well, this is surprising. You actually have no idea why I'm here. I want an explanation, Mycroft."

"To what?" Mycroft raised an eyebrow.

Sherlock dropped into the chair in front of the desk, making sure to deliberately arrange his legs so that they feel over the side of the chair, as he knew how it annoyed his brother. Sure enough, Mycroft scowled.

Sherlock smirked, then his face masked over as he thought about the real reason why he was here. "I want an explanation, dearest brother, of something I found out while I was at Baskerville."

"Oh? And what would that be?" Mycroft looked down at his paperwork and Sherlock felt as though his blood were boiling.

"Oh, I don't know Mycroft. Why don't we start with the fact that you ordered several people to be put to death?"

Mycroft's head snapped up. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Mycroft! Those people that were being experimented on, turned into 'weapons'. Those people that you ordered to be _disposed_!" Sherlock spat the last word at his brother, twisting so he was sitting straight in his seat.

Mycroft sighed. "How did you find out about Project A? It was supposed to be covered up."

Sherlock gave a short, mocking laugh. "Because not everyone is as heartless as you, Mycroft. There was one doctor who couldn't face killing them all, one doctor who decided to save something of the work. One woman was saved, out of how many? How many people died on your orders, Mycroft?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"She talked to me. Helped me with the case. Tell me, did you get a kick out of hurting her? Did you get a kick out of watching her scream as she was pinned to a table? Did you get a kick out of taking everything from her?"

"I didn't -"

"You did! She told me everything! How you came to watch the experiments, how you told them to keep her and the others in a cage, how you came and visited them and told them that as there was no use for them they were going to be disposed of! I know, Mycroft!"

Mycroft sighed. "Sherlock, you don't understand what -"

Sherlock stood up, knocking the chair over. "No, Mycroft, _you_ don't understand. I've been locked in cages before, remember? I've been hurt by people who wanted to use me, I've been told I was worthless, remember. And it was always you who picked me back up again, you who stopped the pain, you made it better. How do you think I felt, Mycroft, knowing that my own brother had done to other people the exact same thing he stopped others doing to me? Probably at the same time, too?" Sherlock knew there were tears pouring down his face, but he didn't care. Mycroft had been there, when he had been locked away by people at the university, when they had beaten him for being such a freak. To Sherlock, Mycroft had always been the one who would make it stop, and now, learning this…it _hurt_.

"Sherlock, I'm sorry. I completely -"

"Forgot. I assumed as much." Forget hurt. Sherlock _hated his brother. He'd never hated anyone this much, not even Moriarty, not even his father._

"_I will make every effort to free her, Sherlock."_

_Sherlock sneered. "A little behind the times are we, Mycroft? I wouldn't be here if I hadn't already done it. Shall I introduce her to you?"_

_The door opened and Ayla was beside Sherlock in an instant. She took his hand and smiled at him._

"_Hello, Mr Holmes."_

_Mycroft nodded to her, then turned to Sherlock. "I can see that you feel strongly about this. For your sake, I will leave her alone, broth-"_

"_Don't." Sherlock interrupted. He could feel himself trembling. "Don't. I'm not your brother. Not after this."_

"_Sherlock!" Mycroft stood up, but Sherlock stepped back towards the door._

"_Goodbye, Mycroft. I trust this is the last I'll see of you." A Sherlock walked out, he pretended not to hear the choked sobs that Mycroft was trying to hold back, he pretended not to see Ayla's sympathetic looks, he pretended not to feel tears burning in his own eyes. He was emotionless, just as Mycroft had always told him to be._

_He hated it._


	3. Chapter 3

Sherlock could feel Ayla staring at him in the taxi. He shifted away from her and looked out of the window. It was childish, but he didn't want to talk.

"Sherlock? Are you alright?"

Sighing, he looked at Ayla. "I'm fine."

"Even though you just disowned your brother?"

"Yes." He looked out of the window again. He was _not_ fine. Every cell in his body was screaming for him to turn the cab around and go cry into Mycroft's shoulder, just like he used to. He heard Ayla sigh and he frowned. He didn't want to upset her, but talking about his emotional state was not something he wanted to do. He wasn't sure _what_ he wanted to so, and that thought was scaring him slightly.

…...

"Sherlock? Do you want something to eat?"

Sherlock looked out the window and sighed. His head snapped to the door when he heard it open.

"I said no."

"You forget that I have enhanced hearing. You didn't say anything." Ayla shut the door then sat down next to Sherlock. "Is this about your brother?"

"I should have kept you away from John. He's made you a lot more outspoken." Sherlock flashed a half-smirk at Ayla.

She smiled. "Stop changing the subject. You need to talk to him."

"No."

Ayla sighed. "Sherlock, he's your brother."

"Not anymore." Sherlock scowled. "Not after the way he treated you."

Sherlock felt a soft touch on his cheek, then Ayla was suddenly standing by the door. "He knows everything about that place, no-one could hide anything from him. Did you ever think that maybe he knew that they'd kept me? He could have forced them to get rid of me at any time, hell, he could have done it himself. But he didn't."

Sherlock shuddered as an image of a dead Ayla forced itself into his mind. "Don't talk about it."

"Sorry." She gently threw his phone to him. "Call him."

Looking down at the phone, Sherlock hunched his knees up and rested his head on them. "I don't want to call him." he muttered.

"Yes, you do!" he heard Ayla call from the living room.

He grit his teeth and picked up the phone. The number was already on the screen before Sherlock realised what he was doing. Did he really want to call Mycroft? Then again, did he really want Mycroft out of his life? Hand shaking, Sherlock pressed call, and waited.

"_Sherlock_?"

"Did you know that they kept her?" Sherlock whispered.

"_How could I not know?_"

Sherlock sagged against the headboard of his bed. "Why didn't you say anything? I wouldn't have said what I did."

Mycroft laughed. "_Brother-mine, you would have and you know it. You were stressed, you needed to rant at me. If I recall, you've done that many, many times before._"

"I never disowned you as my brother before, Mycroft."

"_You and I both know you didn't mean it. I'll be sending Anthea up with some information you'll be needing._"

"Goodbye, brother."

Sherlock could feel Mycroft's smile through the phone. "_Goodbye, brother._"

As Sherlock put the phone down, he looked up to see Ayla smiling at him from the doorway. She sat next to him and kissed his cheek. He smiled and put an arm around her. "Thank you."

"Go to sleep, Sherlock. You haven't slept for nearly three days."

"Neither have you." Sherlock retorted, but he lay down and let Ayla curl up beside him. His eyes drifted closed, and the last thing his brain registered was how well Ayla's body fit with his, and how he could have smelt her perfume forever.

_**A.N. - Awww, sweetness! If anyone who reads this is on DeviantArt, if you could draw some pictures to go with the story, I'd be eternally grateful, I need an image for it. All credit would go to you, it's just that my drawing talents amount to diddly-squat.**_

_**Please review!**_


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